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POLISCI 18N:Civil War and International Politics: Syria in Context

How and why do civil wars start, drag on, and end? What does focus of post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy on countries torn apart by civil war tell us about contemporary international relations? We consider these and related questions, with the conflict in Syria as our main case study.

Last offered: Autumn 2015
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI

POLISCI 20Q:Democracy in Crisis: Learning from the Past (EDUC 122Q, HISTORY 52Q)

This Sophomore Seminar will focus on U.S. democracy and will use a series of case studies of major events in our national history to explore what happened and why to American democracy at key pressure points. This historical exploration should shed light on how the current challenges facing American democracy might best be handled. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center).

POLISCI 25N:The US Congress in Historical and Comparative Perspective

This course traces the development of legislatures from their medieval European origins to the present, with primary emphasis on the case of the U.S. Congress. Students will learn about the early role played by assemblies in placing limits on royal power, especially via the power of the purse. About half the course will then turn to a more detailed consideration of the U.S. Congress's contemporary performance, analyzing how that performance is affected by procedural legacies from the past that affect most democratic legislatures worldwide.

Last offered: Winter 2018
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI

POLISCI 27N:Thinking Like a Social Scientist

Preference to freshman. This seminar will consider how politics and government can be studied systematically: the compound term Political SCIENCE is not an oxymoron. The seminar will introduce core concepts and explore a variety of methodological approaches. Problems of inference from evidence will be a major concern. Classic and contemporary research studies will be the basis of discussion throughout.

Last offered: Winter 2016
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI

POLISCI 28N:The Changing Nature of Racial Identity in American Politics

Almost one-third of Americans now identify with a racial/ethnic minority group. This seminar examines the relationship between racial identity, group consciousness, and public opinion. Topics include the role of government institutions in shaping identification, challenges in defining and measuring race, attitudes towards race-based policies, and the development of political solidarity within racial groups. Particular attention will be paid to the construction of political identities among the growing mixed-race population.

Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? In this course, we approach issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st century U.S. We will examine issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation and racial prejudice in American society. Topics we will explore include the political and social formation of "race"; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the "one-drop rule" and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of Census categories and the rise of the Multiracial Movement.

Last offered: Winter 2017
| UG Reqs: WAY-ED, WAY-SI

POLISCI 31Q:Justice and Cities

Cities have most often been where struggles for social justice happen, where injustice is most glaring and where new or renewed visions of just communities are developed and tested. What makes a city just or unjust? How have people tried to make cities more just? Why have these efforts succeeded or failed? Each of our sessions will focus on questions like these and include a case study of a particular city, largely with a focus on the United States, including very local cases like San Francisco, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. The central goal of this class is for you to gain an understanding of the roles of urban design and urban policies in making cities just or unjust places. You will critically engage with some of the debates on cities and justice and gain experience connecting theoretical debates about justice and democracy to empirical data and contemporary work on city design, planning, and policies through readings, our class discussions, and a sustained research project looking a particular city in depth.

Last offered: Winter 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI

POLISCI 101:Introduction to International Relations

The course provides an introduction to major factors shaping contemporary international politics, including the distribution of power among states, ideas, and domestic regimes. The course will explore the causes of the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War, the impact of nuclear weapons, the rise of China, and external state building.

POLISCI 101Z:Introduction to International Relations (INTNLREL 101Z)

Approaches to the study of conflict and cooperation in world affairs. Applications to war, terrorism, trade policy, the environment, and world poverty. Debates about the ethics of war and the global distribution of wealth.

POLISCI 102:Introduction to American Politics and Policy: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (AMSTUD 123X, PUBLPOL 101, PUBLPOL 201)

This is a course about American politics, which means this is a course about individuals, identities, and institutions. How do Americans come to think andnreason about politics? What is the role that identities play in affecting the political judgments that individuals make? How do our political institutionsnrespond to the demands of a diverse public that disagrees about issues related to race and justice, income and wealth inequality, climate change, gunncontrol, reproductive rights, the power of the executive, and the role that government ought to play in the lives of the governed? And how do we makensense of this seemingly peculiar contemporary moment in American politics? These are not easy questions, but they are ones for which political sciencenprovides a useful foundation to guide our inquiry. The objective of this course is to introduce students to various concepts and theoretical frameworks thatnhelp us understand the messiness and complexity of American politics. In addition to classroom lectures and discussion sections, students will benrequired to apply concepts and theoretical frameworks to contemporary issues in American politics. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to enroll in this class for 5 units.